U.S. patent number 4,274,649 [Application Number 06/012,529] was granted by the patent office on 1981-06-23 for bicycle trailer and hitch.
Invention is credited to Ed W. Vanderhorst, Henry L. Vanderhorst.
United States Patent |
4,274,649 |
Vanderhorst , et
al. |
June 23, 1981 |
Bicycle trailer and hitch
Abstract
A quick release trailer and hitch apparatus has a container
mounted on a pair of wheels with a pair of pull bars attached for
being adjacent to the outer front corner regions of the container.
The pull bars being gradually and continuously together with their
remote ends attached to a connecting member. The connecting member
has a center gripping portion and a rigid attachment portion with
an orifice therethrough. A swivel member, permanently coupled on a
ball member and freely rotatable thereabout, has a hitch portion
with a first passageway for receiving the rigid attachment portion
and a second passageway intersecting the first passageway. A spring
loaded pin is provided to extend through the second passageway and
the orifice in the rigid attachment portion to hold the swivel
member and the connecting member immovable relative to each other.
The ball member is attached to the bicycle in any appropriate way,
such as with a bracket.
Inventors: |
Vanderhorst; Ed W. (Van Nuys,
CA), Vanderhorst; Henry L. (Van Nuys, CA) |
Family
ID: |
21755391 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/012,529 |
Filed: |
February 15, 1979 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/204;
280/47.26; 280/511 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62K
27/12 (20130101); B60D 1/07 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60D
1/00 (20060101); B60D 1/07 (20060101); B62K
27/00 (20060101); B62K 27/12 (20060101); B60D
001/06 (); B62K 027/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;280/204,47.26,63,415R,415A,477,1.5,511,515,474 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
867551 |
|
Nov 1941 |
|
FR |
|
15287 of |
|
1901 |
|
GB |
|
422768 |
|
Jan 1935 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Reese; Randolph A.
Assistant Examiner: McGiehan; Donn
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Nilsson, Robbins, Dalgarn,
Berliner, Carson & Wurst
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A quick release hitch assembly for releasably coupling a trailer
to a vehicle comprising:
a coupling member having an upstanding post and a spherical ball
portion attached to the top of the upstanding post, the coupling
member being attached to the vehicle;
a swivel member having a socket portion for permanently mounting
the swivel member essentially on the ball portion, the swivel
member having a ball receiving socket therein, slightly less than
half of the sphere of the ball portion being positioned in the ball
receiving socket, the swivel member further having a retention disc
with a central orifice having an interior chamfered edge, the
central orifice of the retention disc having a diameter less than
the diameter of the ball member, the ball member being loosely
retained in the ball receiving socket by the retention disc when
the retention disc is attached to the swivel member about the
peripheral edge of the ball receiving socket whereby the swivel
member is freely movable about the ball portion, the swivel member
further having a hitch portion having a swivel member end surface,
a first closed-ended, substantially straight, passageway extending
from the swivel member end surface into the hitch portion, and a
second open-ended passageway therethrough intersecting the first
passageway;
a connecting member permanently attached to the trailer and having
a connecting member shoulder and an attachment portion extending
from the connecting member shoulder for being releasably inserted
into the first passageway, the attachment portion having an
attachment orifice therethrough, the attachment orifice being
positioned so that it will be aligned with the second passageway
when the attachment portion is inserted in the first passageway and
the swivel member end surface abuts against the connecting member
shoulder; and
a pin for being removably inserted through the second passageway
and the attachment orifice for essentially coupling the connecting
member to the swivel member, the connecting member being released
from the swivel member by removing the pin from the second
passageway and the attachment orifice.
2. The hitch assembly of claim 1 wherein the connecting member
further comprises a trailer deflection means interconnected to the
trailer wherein the deflection means comprises:
A pair of pull bars interconnected between the attachment portion
and the trailer on opposite sides thereof, the spacing of the pull
bars at a front location of the trailer nearest the attachment
portion being about the same as the width of the trailer at the
front location, the spacing between the pull bars continuously and
gradually decreasing in the direction of the attachment portion
whereby the trailer is deflected away from a stationary object by
the pull bars.
3. The hitch assembly of claim 2 wherein the connecting member
further comprises gripping means between the attachment portion and
the pair of pull bars for hand-pulling the trailer assembly when
the trailer is disconnected from the hitch portion of the swivel
member and the cross-section of the first passageway and the
cross-section of the connecting member attachment portion are oval
wherein the shape of the cross-section of the attachment portion is
substantially the same as the shape of the cross-section of the
first passageway for allowing the attachment portion to be
releasably inserted in the first passageway.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hitch and trailer apparatus and,
in particular, to a hitch and trailer apparatus adapted to be
pulled by a bicycle.
A number of trailer and hitch apparatus for use in conjunction with
bicycles have been devised. One goal of such apparatus has been
that back and forth or up and down motion of the bicycle be
isolated from similar motion of the trailer so that complete and
full control over the operation of the bicycle will not be impeded
by the trailer.
Various universal joint mechanisms have been devised which attempt
to achieve this goal. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 624,678,
issued May 9, 1889, to J. Planes; 3,567,249, issued Mar. 2, 1971,
to R. S. Robinson and 3,877,723, issued Apr. 15, 1975, to Fahey, et
al, various universal-type joint mechanisms are disclosed. However,
each of these universal joints provide two or more orthogonal fixed
axes about which rotation is permitted. Such an arrangement has
been found to cause throbbing, that is, relative forward or
backward motion between the bicycle and the trailer. Such throbbing
motion significantly effects the ability of an operator to control
the bicycle and, under certain circumstances, could cause the
trailer to jack-knife or otherwise tend to tip over. By contrast,
the present invention provides a fixed ball and socket arrangement
which does not have any fixed axes of rotation but rather allows
smooth and continuous rotation about substantially the entire ball.
The ball and socket joint of the present invention substantially
eliminates all throbbing and thus permits the bicycle operator to
maintain control over the bicycle while towing the trailer.
Various ball and socket type joints have been utilized in trailer
and hitch assemblies. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. Reissue 26,806,
issued Mar. 30, 1970, to R. S. Robinson, a ball and socket
arrangement is disclosed whereby the ball is attached to the axle
of a bicycle wheel. By contrast, the present invention provides a
ball attached to the frame above the wheel thus allowing
substantially more freedom of movement of the bicycle in turning
situations.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,645, issued Mar. 7, 1978, to Dortch, et al,
a ball and socket type interconnecting hitch is disclosed. However,
in that arrangement, the interconnecting member has a hook-like
neck so that the interconnection to the ball is made vertically
from a top of the ball. Such a neck protrusion could cause injury
to an operator in case of an accident.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,646, issued Mar. 7, 1978, to Watkins,
another ball and socket type hitch arrangement is shown. However,
reference to FIG. 5 shows that in order to provide maximum
side-to-side motion of the bicycle, the ball must be rotated so
that the connecting stem is substantially in a horizontal
orientation rather than a vertical orientation. Thus, the ball and
socket apparatus disclosed is substantially limited in its freedom
of movement. In addition, a substantial problem of keeping the
socket on the ball would arise utilizing the arrangement shown in
FIG. 5.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,024, issued Jan. 27, 1970, to J. H.
Cooper, a trailer hitch for motorcycles is shown incorporating a
ball and socket type arrangement. However, the arrangement
illustrated does not provide for any substantially side-to-side
motion. Indeed, in each of the above-identified ball and socket
type interconnecting apparatus, a primary purpose of the apparatus
is to provide a means for coupling and decoupling the trailer from
the bicycle. Thus, each apparatus incorporates an attachment
mechanism in the bolt and socket joint which inhibits free motion
of the socket about the ball. By contrast, in the present
invention, the socket is permanently attached to the ball.
Disconnection of the trailer from the bicycle occurs by providing a
hitch portion to the swivel or socket member. The hitch portion has
a first passageway into which a rigid attachment portion fixed to
the trailer may be inserted. A transverse hole or passageway
intersects the first passageway. The orifice in the end of the
rigid swivel attachment end is aligned with the second passageway
and thereafter held in place by a spring loaded release pin.
The trailer may be released from the bicycle by simply removing the
release pin and extracating the rigid attachment end from the first
passageway in the swivel member. Because the connection and
disconnection is not made by removing the ball from the socket, a
retention plate member may be utilized to allow far greater freedom
of movement of the ball within the socket and thus more completely
isolates movement of the bicycle from the trailer and vice versa.
Because of the greater freedom in motion, utilizing the present
invention, the bicycle may be laid down on the ground without
causing the trailer to tip or otherwise be upset.
Thus, the present invention provides a novel means by which only
the bicycle's forward motion is imparted to the trailer and all
other relative motion between the trailer and the bicycle is
isolated so that motion of the bicycle does not affect the trailer
and motion of the trailer does not affect the bicycle. In addition,
the present invention provides a means by which the trailer may be
quickly and easily disconnected from the bicycle and hand
pulled.
A permanent ball and socket type interconnection is shown in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,037,853, issued July 26, 1977, to Sparks, and in U.S.
Pat. No. 2,370,988, issued Mar. 6, 1945, to Neal. However, in these
patents the ball and socket type interconnecting is such that
motion between the trailer and bicycle is substantially coupled or
otherwise limited. In addition, neither of these two patents
provide for any quick disconnection mechanism. For example, in
Sparks, the disconnection must be made by unscrewing a bolt by
which the ball member is attached to the bicycle. By contrast, the
present invention is a very simple mechanism which substantially
isolates motion between the trailer and bicycle, except in the
forward or pulling direction. Because of the simplicity of the
present invention, it is substantially less expensive and easier to
build than prior devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a trailer and hitch assembly for
attachment to a vehicle which comprises a ball member coupled or
otherwise attached to the vehicle and a swivel member having a
socket means for permanently mounting the swivel member onto the
ball member so that the swivel member is freely movable about the
ball member. The swivel member also has a hitch portion which
preferably has a closed ended first passageway and a second
passageway which intersects the first passageway near its closed
end. A connecting member is then provided for being releasably
interconnected to the hitch portion of the swivel member whereby
substantially all relative movement between the swivel member and
the connecting member is prevented when the connecting member and
the swivel member are interconnected. A trailer assembly is
permanently coupled to the connecting member and is immovable
relative thereto so that the relative motion between the bicycle
and the trailer is entirely about the ball member.
The ball member may be attached to the bicycle by an appropriate
bracket means.
In the preferred embodiment, the connecting member has a gripping
means whereby the trailer assembly may be hand pulled when the
trailer is disconnected from the hitch portion of the swivel
member.
The trailer is interconnected to the swivel member by inserting a
rigid first end of the connecting member having an orifice
therethrough, into the first passageway until the orifice and the
second passageway are aligned. A release pin is then inserted
through the second passageway and the orifice to interconnect the
trailer to the swivel member. Automatic alignment of the orifice
and the second passageway upon insertion of the first end of the
connecting member into the first passageway may be achieved by
providing a non-circular cross-section for both the first
passageway and the rigid first end. The depth of the first
passageway may then be selected so that the rigid first end bottoms
out at a point where the orifice and the second passageway are in
alignment.
The trailer assembly preferably comprises wheel means which may,
for example, be a pair of wheels rotatably attached to opposite
ends of an axle; a container means, which may be mounted to the
axle; and a pull means which is rigidly interconnected between the
container means and the connecting member. The pull means may
comprise a pair of pull bars attached to the container means on
opposite sides thereof whereby the spacing of the pull bars at the
front of the container means is about the same as the width of the
front of the container means and the spacing between the pull bars
continuously and gradually decreases in the direction of the
connecting member to thereby provide a trailer deflection safety
mechanism to prevent the trailer from hooking on an object while
the trailer is in motion.
Finally, a locking mechanism may be provided whereby the swivel
means may be made immovable relative to the ball. Such a mechanism
may, for example, be a lock screw which is positioned to extend
into the socket portion of the swivel member so that, when
tightened, the end of the screw presses the ball against the side
of the socket to thereby make the swivel member immovable relative
to the ball. Of course, various other mechanisms may be utilized to
make the swivel member immovable relative to the ball.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A complete understanding of the present invention may be gained
from a consideration of the following description of the preferred
embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective plan view of the present invention showing
a trailer and hitch apparatus in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective of the hitch assembly of the
present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through section 3--3 of FIG. 2;
and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the line 4--4 of FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring first to FIG. 1, a trailer and hitch assembly in
accordance with the present invention is illustrated having a
trailer assembly 12 interconnected to a vehicle, such as a bicycle
14, utilizing a hitch assembly 10. In one embodiment, the trailer
assembly 12 may have a pair of wheels 20 and 22 such as
conventional bicycle wheels rotatably attached to an axle means 30
which may be a single axle or a pair of individual axles separately
mounted. A container 24, is then interconnected to the axle means
30 to provide an appropriate moveable container means. The
container 24 may, for example, be made of molded plastic or other
suitable material of any desired size.
The trailer assembly 12 also has pull means which in one embodiment
comprises a pair of pull bars 26 and 28. In the preferred
embodiment, the pull bar 26 is attached to the container 24 along
one of its lower edges 25 and the pull bar 28 is attached to the
opposite lower edge (not shown) of the container 24. The two pull
bars 26 and 28 are then bent upwardly away from the container 24
and inwardly in a generally S-shape. Both pull bars 26 and 28 are
then coupled in a rigid manner to a connecting member 50 which is
part of the hitch assembly 10.
Alternatively, and to provide additional strength, the pull bars 26
and 28 may be attached directly to the axle means 30. Regardless of
the particular point or method of attachment of the pull bars 26
and 28 to allow the container wheel assembly to be pulled, it will
be understood that in accordance with the invention, the spacing
between the pull bars 26 and 28 at the point where they contact the
front 32 of the container 24 is about the same as the width of the
front 32 of the container 24. Furthermore, the spacing between the
pull bars 26 and 28 continuously and gradually decreases in the
direction of the connecting member 50.
An effective deflection mechanism is provided by the positioning of
the pull bars 26 and 28 so that a substantial portion of the front
of the container 24 will be between the pair of pull bars 26 and 28
with the pull bars being bent in a continuous and grandual manner
toward the hitch. This deflection mechanism will prevent the
trailer assembly 12 from hooking around an object, such as a pole
or other object such as when the trailer assembly 12 follows the
bicycle 14 about a turn in close proximity to the pole or object.
To provide additional protection from hooking an oval or rounded
front may be provided for the container configuration itself. Of
course, various deflection mechanisms may also be provided without
departing from the spirit of the invention.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of the hitch
assembly is illustrated having a connecting member 50, a swivel
member 70, a ball member 88, and a bracket means 90.
More specifically, the connecting member 50 comprises a pull bar
attachment portion 52 at one of its ends and a rigid swivel
attachment end 60 at its opposite end. A gripping means 58, such as
a bicycle handle grip, is positioned between the rigid swivel
attachment end 60 and the pull bar attachment end 52. A passageway
means 54 is provided to extend into the pull bar attachment portion
52 for receiving the pull bars 26 and 28 which may be attached to
the connecting member 50 by one or more bolts 56. Of course, it
will be appreciated that any appropriate attachment means may be
utilized to attach the pull bars 26 and 28 to the connecting member
50 provided the interconnection is rigid so that there is
substantially no movement between the connecting member 50 and the
pull bars 26 and 28.
The central gripping means 58 may be provided so that the trailer
assembly may be hand pulled when it is disconnected from the
bicycle.
The rigid swivel attachment end 60 extends in front of the gripping
means 58 and is made of a rigid material, such as aluminum or
steel. An orifice 62 is provided through the end of the rigid
swivel attachment end 60 to provide a means of connecting the
trailer assembly 12 to the swivel member 70 and hence to the
bicycle in a manner to be hereafter described.
The swivel member 70 generally comprises a hitch portion 76 and a
socket portion 72. The hitch portion 76 has an inwardly extending
first passageway 78 for receiving the rigid swivel attachment end
60 of the connecting member 50, and a second passageway 80 which
intersects the first passageway 78 in the interior of the hitch
portion 76. In the preferred embodiment, the cross-section of the
rigid swivel attachment end 60 and the cross-section of the first
passageway 78 will have a substantially non-circular shape so that
the orifice 62 will align radially with the second passageway 80
when the rigid swivel attachment end 60 is inserted into the first
passageway 78. For example, in the embodiment illustrated, the
cross-section of the rigid swivel attachment end 60 and the
cross-section of the first passageway 78 are both generally oval,
that is, without sharp edges thereabout.
Longitudinal alignment may be provided by selecting the depth of
the passageway 78 so that the rigid end 60 "bottoms out" at a point
where the orifice 62 and the second passageway 80 are in alignment.
Alternatively, the alignment may occur when a shoulder 61 of the
connecting member 50 comes in contact with a swivel member end
surface 77. As can be seen, additional rigidity at the point of
connection will occur if the surface 77 is in contact with the
shoulder 61.
In order to hold the connecting member 50 and the swivel member 70
together, a release pin 82 is provided to be inserted through the
second passageway 80 and extending through the orifice 62. The
cross-section of the rigid swivel attachment end 60 is preferably
the same shape but just slightly smaller than the cross-section of
the first passageway 78 so that when the release pin is in place,
the swivel member 70 and the connecting member 50 will be
substantially immovable relating to one another.
In providing a rigid immovable interconnection between the swivel
member 70 and the connecting member 50 and between the connecting
member 50 and the respective pull bars 26 and 28, "throbbing",
i.e., relative motion between the bicycle and the trailer, is
eliminated. Such throbbing has been a significant problem in prior
devices in that it adversely affects the control which the bicycle
rider has over the bicycle when a trailer apparatus is being
pulled.
Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 4, the socket portion
72 of the swivel member 70 has a socket 74 for receiving a ball
member 88. The swivel member 70 is permanently attached to the ball
member 88 by first inserting the ball member 88 into the socket 74
of the socket portion 72 and providing a retention member 84 which
has an orifice 85 therethrough. The orifice 85 has a diameter which
is smaller than the diameter of the ball member 88 and has an
interior chamfered edge 91 for mating with the surface of the ball.
Such a structure minimizes the contact between the ball and socket
thus enabling maximum freedom of movement of the swivel member 70
on the ball member 88. The retention member 84 may be affixed to
the swivel member 70 in any appropriate means, such as by screws or
bolts 86 so that the ball is loosely retained by the retention
member 84 in the socket 74.
A stem 89 is attached to the ball 88 and has an end remote from the
ball 88 attached to a horizontal member 98 of the bracket means 90
in any appropriate way, such as by welding, as shown in FIG. 3, or
bolting, as shown in FIG. 2. The stem 89 is preferably of a
relatively small diameter compared to the ball portion 88 and has a
length between the horizontal member 98 and the point of attachment
to the ball 88 which is sufficient to allow a substantial amount of
rotational freedom of the swivel member 70 about the ball 88
without coming in contact with the horizontal member.
In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket means 90 comprises a
back plate 92 and a front plate 94 which are positioned on either
side of a portion of the bicycle frame 40 and then clamped
premanently to the bicycle frame 40 (FIG. 1) by an appropriate
means, such as a bolt 96. The front plate 94 is then provided with
the horizontal member or portion 98 to which the stem 89 of the
ball member 88 is attached as previously described. A slot or
orifice 99 (FIG. 2) in member 98 may be provided for the brake
cable on bicycles with a center pull type brake. While a bracket
means 90 may be used, it will be appreciated that many appropriate
means by which a ball member may be attached or interconnected to a
bicycle will suffice. Thus, the ball member may be permanently
welded to the frame 40.
In operation, when the bracket means 90 is attached to the bicycle,
the connecting member 50 has been inserted into the first
passageway 78 of the swivel member 70 and is held by the release
pin 82, and the respective pull bars 26 and 28 are interconnected
to the connecting member 50, all relative motion between the
trailer and the bicycle will occur about the ball member 88.
The trailer assembly may be quickly and easily disconnected from
the swivel member 70 by simply withdrawing the release pin 82 which
may, for example, be a conventional spring loaded pin, from
passageway 80 by pulling on a ring 83 (FIG. 4). For convenience,
the release pin 82 may be attached to the swivel member 70 by a
chain or cable 87.
In another embodiment and with reference to FIG. 3, the swivel
member 70 may be made immovable relative to the ball member 88 by
simply providing a clamp screw 42 which may be tightened against
the ball 88 to prevent the swivel member 70 from moving relative to
the ball 88. Such a clamping mechanism is useful to prevent the
swivel member 70 from moving about the ball 88 when the trailer
assembly has been disconnected.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other
changes in form and detail may be made without departing form the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *